In this blog post, I’m going to be giving a brief introduction to the Logical Reasoning section of the LSAT. While this lesson is geared toward the LSAT, the logic skills are useful in math, classical rhetoric and philosophy, and debate.

Today we’ll start with a little myth busting and a brief overview of the test. Then we’ll do a sample question: we’ll analyze the stimulus (the sentences before the actual question), the question itself (also known as the question stem), and the answer choices. We’ll conclude with some key takeaways.

Eliana is a student at New York University School of Law. She holds a B.A. with high honors in Sociology from Wesleyan University, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Before law school, Eliana worked for several years at a national women’s rights impact litigation organization. She recently co-authored a chapter in the 6th edition of The Lawyer’s Manual on Domestic Violence, published by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Department.

Juneau Alaska (alaska-in-pictures.com)

It may be the dead of winter, but it’s fast approaching already: the 1L summer job search! Your summer can be a lot of things: a chance to try the actual legal profession, a first step along the path to an eventual career, an opportunity to start building a resume and job connections, and a time to escape the confines of the law library and see the wider world. It’s overwhelming… and probably even more so if it feels like everyone else knows exactly what they’re going. (They don’t.) But, with all of that in mind, here are some ideas for a great 1L summer.

If you’re a 1L approaching the end of your first semester of law school, and you’re anything like I was, you’re probably starting to wonder: What are these exams I keep hearing about? How do I prepare for them? How do I succeed on them? Will I be okay?

As to the last one, the answer is definitely: yes. You’re fine! As for the other questions, read on…

if only issue spotting was like spotting Waldo... [image source: Martin Handford]

My first class at Harvard Law School was Contracts, with then-professor, now-Senator Elizabeth Warren. Before she was famous as a leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, she was a famously excellent teacher -- the only professor at Harvard Law School to win the student nominated teaching award twice -- as well as a famously tough one. We knew before the first day of class that she planned to cold-call every student, in class. (She always did, and often called on many students more than once!)

Just in case you're not, let's look at courses you can take to become one!

Marbury v. Madison.

Brown v. Board of Education.

Obergefell v. Hodges.

Whether you’re already a law buff or just excited to start taking it all in, I imagine you’ve heard about these cases in a history class, or the newspapers, or both. In fact, they might have been the very cases that first piqued your interest in law, or inspired you to go to law school. (One that inspired me: Ricci v. DeStefano, which I could have debated for hours. Look it up!) In some ways, cases like these are the very foundation of the entire legal system you’ll be studying in law school.

LSAT aces, get ready! [Elle gets a 179 in Legally Blonde]

If you’re going to law school, you’ve taken the LSAT. (How’s that for a valid conclusion! In fact, taking the LSAT is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for attending law school.) The LSAT is meant to predict first-year grades in law school, and there’s some evidence -- if you trust the company which administers it -- that the predictions are decently valid. (That’s a topic for another whole blog post…) So, if you feel good about your LSAT score -- and the thought of the LSAT doesn’t give you nightmares -- the LSAC would tell you to feel prepared for that dreaded first year of law school.